Graves' This and That

My red alert:  I am reminded repeatedly through my own life and the observation of the lives of others of all ages these eons of ages, that "doing as I damn-well please" has some repercussions that I really don't or didn't want to experience.  Of course, in teaching school and in Sunday School, we would call this action, rebellion, disobedience,  or not listening which are more acceptable statements than my phrase as stated earlier in this paragraph, but the impact of the action is still the same, painful!  The evil one loves it when I give in to emotions that cradle and coddle me and allow me to think I am a victim of some one.  I would prefer to deflect the blame on to someone else because I am not sure I am ready to dig deeply into my own inner vows, strongholds, or mindsets to see what is going on in my life.  The evil one prefers to distract me and keep me so caught up in the hot messes that I don't or won't hunker down in the WORD of GOD  to see what i

Joseph's brothers have come to him after the death of their father, Jacob.  Of course they come to him with guilt and being masters of manipulation, they state to him what their father, Jacob had told them, "I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrong they committed in treating you so badly.  Now forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father."  Joseph's response, he wept.  As his brothers fell down before him, he asked them, "Am I in the place of God?   Other strong faith statements were made by Joseph, but I want to focus on "Am I in the place of God?"  Listening to pastor Tim Keller, this question took on a practical light.  Do I move onto the Throne of God and take control of my life and try to govern others?  You bet I do.  I have taken that action and I wished it was a action that only I decided to make.  My mother, Eve from Eden, had the same mentality...I can be like God.  The real conclusion of my desire to take the

God has seen fit to really allow us to be pressed more than usual this last year.  It seems that He has had two lessons that He has wanted us to learn and to always work from that child-training/discipline/trial position: (1) humble ourselves under His mighty hand (2) trust HIM in every circumstance.   I have often asked HIM to plaster what He is saying to me on the den wall so that I don't miss it.  I love HIS Word and I have the privilege of being in it each day, but there are still times that I struggle knowing what to do when I don't know what to do.  I am sure this is ALL about trusting HIM.   Humbling myself is admission that I am finite, flawed, and that I desperately need HIM.  I am positive that HE is not shocked when I confess/agree with HIM that I am desperately needy.  It means that I fall on my face and cry out to HIM in prayer and that I hunker down in HIS WORD and wait.  I have the "crying out" down well, hunkering down in HIS WORD I love, but the W

This spring I decided to try to have a garden.  My neighbor who is Thai has a gorgeous productive garden and I had hopes of doing a small garden.  Alas, the spring rains pounded the soil and the plants, and then it stayed cool forever.  Of course, it then became blazing hot.  All my hard work was a lost cause and it was mainly due to the poor soil.  It had not been worked and good soil needed to be added to it and also some mulch.  Our soil is black "gumbo",  a clay type soil as hard as my head, unless you are my Thai neighbor!   Reading through Matthew 13 which is the narrative that Jesus told about the farmer and the soils, I was reminded again how important good soil is to the sowing, planting, and harvesting  of any produce.  Parables were stories thrown along side of a truth which He was trying to teach. He spoke of four soils into which the seed fell:  the wayside, the stony place, the thorny place, and good fertile soil.  The soils were metaphors for  the kinds of

Lawsey, how I hate my pride! It is so insidious because it masquerades as insecurity, inferiority, comparing, competing, controlling, and conquering spirits.  It even cuddles up closely beside me and appears as if it is consoling my unmet needs, my unhealed hurts, or my unresolved issues.  Pride delights in reminding me that I may have been overlooked, opposed, disregarded, pushed aside, and maybe even pushed down.  Hence, I am a victim.   Because I have full-fledged victim status, I have the right to victimize others.  I will show them!  I will do to others as they may have done to me, I have the right! If this seems foreign to your thinking, take a look at our social media....I think our selfies suggest more than our image!  I am looking for someone or "many ones" to give me the affirmation I think I deserve. I am more interested in what others say of me than the TRUTH and affirmation that YOUR WORD speaks about me.  I must confront the pride factor with the TRUTH of

If it were not for clothes shopping, trying on clothes, and trying to fit the bottom of my mind with the bottom of my body, I could be a clothes' horse.  Clothes' horse is another expression for loving clothes...an idol?   I think I will move on to my intention for blogging this today.  Colossians 3:12, "Therefore, as God chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." As I dress each day, I put on the clothing suited for the occasion of the day.  Staying home, it's jammies and worn out clothes.  If I am leaving the confines of the home, I am going to dress in the colors which are complimentary.  I can't wear the earth tones...they are lovely, but not on me.   Today, I was reminded in Scripture about my clothes.  What a compliment Paul has given us...chosen by the LORD, holy (set apart for HIS purpose), and dearly loved.  OK, you may not recognize yourself,  but this is His assessment

For years, I pictured humility looking like walking with head down in a worship setting and always denigrating self wherever I was.  Sounds sickly to me now.  I desire a godly model of humility...I see Moses, Joseph, Daniel, Paul, and in perfection, JESUS. Micah 6:8 is a reminder.  I have shown you, now do it! "He has showed you, O Cheryl, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your GOD."  Another reminder from 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves, therefore under GOD'S mighty hand, that HE may lift you up in due time."  Both of these incidents of humility are active verbs which I must do myself.  I am thinking there is a big difference in my willingness to humble myself than for God to have to humble me!   The LORD JESUS is the model of humility.  Isaiah 53 shows some word pictures of what humility looks like.  Oppressed, afflicted...He did not open His mouth.  No vengeance, no anger, no swe